Spitfire
by BoredOutOfMyMind-360
Summary: Stanzi and Vera—not to mention Alfred, and Arthur, and Nina, and Aly, and Gilbert, and Jasmine, and...I could go on, but I don't want to—attempt to live their lives out in Amestris, but still somehow manage to get in the middle of the Elrics' fight against the homunculus. Then again, why would you expect anything else?


***_Vera POV_***

I slumped over onto the lunch table, and winced quietly. I look across the table at Nina and muttered, "I'm _so_ tired of all this." I flicked my mega-wavy, brown hair out of my face and let out an exasperated sigh. _I swear to God, if I didn't have Nina and Al around, I might go insane._ I raised an eyebrow and said quietly, "Dude, I'm about ready to get up and walk out."

Nina chuckled and leaned on the table, so she was at eye-level with me. She scoffed, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, "Who _isn't_, Lieutenant Colonel? I can't believe you conned me into joining with you and Al."

I mused, "Yeah, I'm just that amazing."

Nina continued, "It's just _way_ too much to handle. And I barely get to see Francis."

I snapped out of my daydream and laughed, sitting up and crossing my arms. Nina raised an unamused eyebrow at me and I explained, giggling a little, "You barely get to see him? How about spending the night at his house every single day?" I studied her, sensing for the best time to 'poke her with a stick'; after a while, I teased her, "_Captain_."

Nina growled, her light brown—almost sandy-blond—hair falling in her face, "I'm gonna pass you up, Larkin. You wait and see!" Typical Nina. She and I have been friends forever, but I've yet to fail at pissing her off. It's kind of funny, when you think about it. Nina's an average-height girl with wavy-ish hair, and big hazel eyes. She usually wears a smirk—or other form of cocky grin, if there is one—on her face. She can be sort of over-the-top, but it's just another thing we have in common. And Francis? Oh...wow. Okay, so a week (or so) ago the perverted idiot [Francis (who else?), who's honestly one of my best friends] proposed to Nina. Then Idiot 2.0 said 'Yes.'

I smirked, and said, "Yeah, keep dreamin'."

I heard someone tiptoeing up behind me, and I rolled my eyes, prepared for my best friend to do...well, whatever the hell he was going to do _this_ time. Al squatted behind me, resting his chin on my shoulder [_code green: resume in normal conversation_ (this basically means I don't have to hit him)]. After putting his coffee down on the table, he pointed to himself and whined in that special way of his, "Hello? Warrant Officer, here! Really, Nina, I got the biggest issues, dude!"

Alfred F. Jones. I've been interested in him (yes, like that; it's a really long story) for as long as I could remember, and—hey—we've been best friends for longer (that story's even longer). Since we were babies, I think. Mom always brought out stupid pictures of us at parties. In about half of them, we—Al, Matt, Arthur, Nina, and I—were toddlers. Proof that people never really grow up, is what those pictures were. I mean, think about it: Al, Nina, and I are—what—twenty-three, now? And just a few weeks ago we, and our group at home, were running around outside my parent's house with the hose on just like when we were five years old. Hell, my whiny-ass little (well, younger by three years) brother got out there with us, too! Al, I think, was just one of those examples that nothing ever really changes. Not entirely.

I smiled and turned my head to the side to nudge Al off of my shoulder. Al winked at me and chuckled softly, standing up.

***_Alfred POV_***

_Okay, Al,_ I thought, brushing myself off, _make a move._ I stared at Vera, who averted her eyes, turning—oh, wow, did this make me happy—a little red. I grabbed the chair next to me, and turned it around, sitting down in it; I rested my forearms on the back of it. _Come on, ya pussy! Do something, already. You've waited God knows how long, just do it!_ I had it. Confidence. It felt good.

Vera laughed and raised an eyebrow, "Must suck to be you."

Aaand...there it went. I put a hand on her shoulder and groaned, "V, you have _no_ idea, dude. Like, seriously." I grabbed my coffee. _Alfred, you chicken, she's your best friend, and you can't even... Jeez, I'm a daisy._ I shrugged and continued, "Anyway... I found something out on the way here. There's a new dude coming here to West City."

Nina looked at me, shocked, "What? When?"

"They said this chick's getting here tomorrow." I looked at Vera, pointing at her, "And she's an alchemist."

Vera grinned deviously, "She any good?"

"I guess so."

Her face lit up. She giggled, "At least now I got competition! Like, _finally_."

I smiled. I've always loved that about her. Vera always needed someone to try to beat, or at least meet. Suffice it to say, she was always good at what she did. Whether it was her alchemy, or cooking, or fighting. She was nice and cheerful, making a huge and varied range of friends who love her to always be there to help her out.

Vera respected everyone, to a certain extent. Occasionally, she came across someone who really irked her. But she really never snapped at, or even annoyed, anyone besides her family, who were really forced to love her. Along with the respect for everyone, even though she was in the military, she swore to never take a life.

She had wavy, messy dark brown hair—that fell to the middle of her back—to match her brown eyes. Her skin was just slightly darker than her brother's roommate(Antonio)'s. She was one of those people who needed to be comfortable and be herself, no matter what the 'regulation' is; to work, she wore the usual uniform, except she rolled up the sleeves to her elbows and left it unbuttoned, showing the black undershirt she had underneath it. The burns all over her body (even one on her jaw line) just made her all the more amazing; just the _fact_ that she was able to walk out of her house the first day she attempted practicing alchemy without her grandfather—when we were _14_—covered and bandages and look at me, with her signature smile, baffled me. She had a button—almost pixie-like—nose, that wrinkled up a little when she laughed. And...she was just-

"Al?"

"Hm?" I looked up at Vera, who had called me back to reality—if only just for a second—and realized that I was staring at my hands, before I looked up. "Oh, uh... sorry about that."

Nina chuckled, "That must be some pretty interesting coffee you got, there."

Vera smiled and asked me quietly, "What's on your mind?"

"Nothin'," I said, shaking my head. "Just thinking about stuff."

She giggled, and leaned on the table, so our face's were _dangerously_ close. She muttered warmly, smiling at me like I was her favorite person in the world, "Any stuff you wanna talk about?"

_Yes._

"Nah, I'm fine."

Vera blinked, and sat back in her chair—just...staring at me like I was sick or dying or something. She was almost positive I was lying; I was sure of it. "Al... Tell me," she sighed, worried. Worried about _me._ I shouldn't say words. "You can trust me. You know you can."

_Where do I begin?_ _Let's see... I'm a dumbass who you should just ignore all together, you give me _waaay_ too much credit, and I...love you. Now: I'll give you ten seconds to book it before I like curl up in a ball or some-such right on this table; I swear to God. Don't get me wrong, I'm amazing, but you should like go be perfect somewhere else._

"I-it's nothing; I'm cool," I sighed. See? Dumbass. Gee, dad, thanks for screwing _that_ message into my brain.

Vera opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by a Second Lieutenant running up behind Nina. He saluted, "Captain!"

Nina nearly jumped out of her skin; she obviously didn't know he was behind her. "Ah! What!? What is it!?" she screamed, turning around to face him. "Did something happen!? Who died!? Oh my _God!_"

Vera and I broke out laughing at her reaction. Usually our loud voices were enough to turn a few heads our direction—normally new recruits to the military here in West City, who aren't used to us—but i_both_ of us? Our laughs sound virtually the same—loud and nasally—hers is just more...girly, I guess; her voice is more high-pitched and all that. Almost everyone in the lunch room with us looked our way; some of them were amused, some of them were just plain pissed off. Not like Vera and I care—we make the biggest fools of ourselves on a daily basis.

We both clung to the table, almost falling out of our chairs. "Nina," Vera howled, "just take the damn folder, before Al and I go hoarse!"

Nina's eyes flitted down to the folder in the Second Lieutenant's hands. She let out a big, frustrated sigh. "I hate to get all annul about you delivering information, but maybe next time a light tap on the shoulder would be a little nicer," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose in an effort to calm down. "Got it?"

The Second Lieutenant nodded, "Sir!"

Nina flapped a hand in front of her face and grimaced, "Yeah, yeah." She curtly grabbed the file the Second Lieutenant was holding, and put it down on the table. Vera looked at her reprimandingly. Nina rolled her eyes, and glanced at the Second Lieutenant still standing behind her. "Thanks," she muttered. With that, he nodded, saluted, and walked away.

Vera beamed, "See? That wasn't so hard."

Nina cursed at Vera under her breath, and opened up the folder. Her eyes scanned the page, and she said quietly, "Guys, I have the report."

"Huh?" I asked, Vera and I both leaning over the table.

"So what's up with the new chick?" Vera asked, trying to look at the file.

Nina furrowed her brow and pushed her away from the paper. "Cut it out."

Vera and I chuckled, sitting back in our seats. "So what's the sitch?" I asked, resting my arm on the back of Vera's chair.

Nina read off of the file, "'Constance Vladimirski will be arriving tomorrow by train at 3:00—in the afternoon—sharp.' 'Vladimirski?' The hell kind of name is that?"

Vera rolled her eyes, "Nina, it's a _name._ You don't have to be mean about it." She thought for a second, then continued gingerly, "But I guess it makes sense that you'd have that reaction; she doesn't sound like she's from around the area."

I nodded. "Yeah... Where's she from, dude?" I asked. I brought my cup to my lips when she scanned over the file once more, waiting for her to answer.

"Uh... Oh, here it is. She's from..._Drachma!?_"

I lurched forward, choking on my coffee. I forced it down my throat and pounded my fist to my chest, convulsing. Vera patted me on the back when I finally stopped coughing. She looked at me, her left hand hovering above my arm—which was holding me up over the table—apprehensively. I shot her a small smile and sighed weakly, "I'm fine." I turned to Nina and asked her, totally confused, "What the hell is a Drachman doing here?"

***_Nina POV_***

I looked down at the file again and murmured, "She has some sort of special privileges or something...?" I closed the folder and shrugged, "I don't know, I'll have to go over it later."

"'Constance Vladimirski,'" Vera sighed. She crossed her arms. "So," she said, "she got an Alchemical name yet?"

I pushed the closed folder to her contemptuously, "I don't know, you check."

Al grabbed the folder, and opened it, grinning from ear to ear, "Sweet."

Vera giggled, and looked at it. Her smile faltered, and she tilted her head to the side, "Huh."

I looked at her, confused, "What is it?"

She shrugged, "Nothing. She just doesn't have an Alchemical name. You think that's really why she's here? Alchemy? Because it doesn't seem like she's too serious about it." All I gave her for an answer was a shrug.

Al scanned over the bottom of the paper, and whined, "Oh, _what?_"

I looked at him and said curiously, "What's up?"

"It's my job to pick her up tomorrow with another soldier," he droned. His forehead connected with the table; maybe a little too hard. "Ow."

Vera sighed and patted him on the back, rolling her eyes.

-The next day; 3:25 PM; Train Station-

***_Alfred POV_***

I shoved my hands in my pockets, and kicked a pebble at my feet, looking around the train station. _Whoever this chick is, she's late as hell._/i I felt a small tug at my sleeve. I looked down at the blond dude standing next to me. "Sup, Tino?"

His big brown eyes expressed nothing but worry and fear; not that any of that is i_abnormal_ for him. He told me in his high voice, "Alfred, I heard that this girl is seriously cold-blooded..."

"Huh?"

He nodded, his body trembling, "She's as dark and scary as the Drachman mountains!" Tears started to fill up his eyes. _Geez, why is this guy even in the military? He better be pretty damn good with a gun, if he's above me in ranks!_ He continued, quietly, "And when she steps the ground rumbles!"

I chuckled and shook my head, "Ah, c'mon, dude... That's nothin' but rumors. Don't worry, 'kay?"

Tino nodded slowly, and turned his head towards where the train was supposed to be coming in from. "Lieutenant Colonel?" he questioned, staring at the short girl running up to us.

Vera stopped in front of us, panting. She bent over, and huffed, "Ah, hell..." She got herself together, and stood up straight, brushing herself off. "Hey!" she smiled.

I looked at her, baffled, "The hell are you doing here?"

"Umbridge sent me."

I nodded slowly, "Oh. But...what for?" Losing my train of thought, I tapped my foot impatiently. "Damn," I sighed, "what's taking them so long?"

"Well, the train _is_ coming all the way from Drachma," Tino said.

Vera sighed, "Anyway... I was, uh, sent to assist in the escort."

I looked over at Tino, confused, "Huh. But me and this dude are doing that..." I looked at her, and smiled, "I mean, not that I'm not really happy that you're here—I am. I'm just...sorta confused."

She giggled, "When _aren't_ you?" I nodded in agreement, and she went on, "I just have to give some information to the new girl; Tino, if want to, you can go back home."

"Okay, cool; whatever," I said, looking down the train tracks, not even listening.

***_Vera POV_***

Al tapped his foot, getting more impatient by the second. He groaned, "The train was supposed to be here at three! It's like half an hour late!"

I laughed, "Oh my God, are you _twelve?_" I shook my head, and pulled out the folder Colonel Umbridge gave me. I opened it, looking through the information. I looked up for a second, to see that Tino was walking away. _I guess I can't blame the guy. I want out, too._ I shrugged, and went back to reading through the file.

"Hey, V?"

I looked up at the smirking face of my best friend. I narrowed my eyes a little and asked cautiously, "What?"

"It's just us, huh."

"Uh...yeah. Where are you going with this?"

He chuckled, "Nowhere... Hey, V...I, uh... There's something that's been bothering me."

"And what's that?" I muttered, looking back down at the file. It really killed me to pretend that I didn't think of him like I did. He's just perfect. I mean his hair is like _really_ soft, and like that perfect kind of blond you never _ever_ see. And that distracts me. I need to work. And his eyes, and...you know, it should be illegal to have eyes that blue. Like what if some innocent bystander is just walking along—minding their own business—and then they see someone who has eyes like that and can't stop staring at them? They could walk into the street and get hit by a car. Or something.

"Well, I think we all know," he sighed, playing with a lock of my hair, snapping me back to reality, " that you're higher up than me on whatever scale they use to sort us by, but you never order me around or call me by my rank." I looked up at him, my cheeks heating up a little. He winked, "Why?"

"I don't have time for this, Al. The train could be here soon."

He smirked and shook his head, pushing all of my hair over to my right shoulder. He leaned down so he was about at my level and whispered into my ear, sounding...almost like he wanted to get _intimate,_ which was sorta weird for him, "Pink's a good color on you." My hand instinctively went up to my cheek. Oh, I was a bit more than pink, now. He grabbed my hand, and I looked up at him, my eyes wide. He chuckled, just the sound of it sending a shiver or two down my spine, "You didn't answer my question, V."

I blinked and looked down the tracks, to see—thank God—a train pulling up to the station. "Oh, would you look at that!" I exclaimed uncomfortably, fixing my hair. "It's here!"

I looked up at his face and had to stop myself from laughing. He blinked when a piece of my hair hit him in his shocked and slightly disappointed features. He looked as animated than ever, his eyebrows arching _way_ too high on his forehead, while his mouth was in a childish pout—which deepened when he averted his eyes, embarrassed. "Y-_yeah_..." he muttered, standing up straight. Gee, Al...thanks for piling on the guilt.

Al and I walked over to the train, waiting for Constance to come out. I tugged at his sleeve and muttered, "And—regarding your question—let's not change the whole 'playing favorites' thing we got goin' on, okay? Let's just leave it at that." He grinned, seeming back to normal, and nodded, as the doors of the train opened.

We both looked up at the _very_ heavily clothed person who appeared in front of us, her piercing green eyes the only part of her visible. I smiled and put my hand out, "Constance, I presume?" She looked at my hand contemptuously. I nodded encouragingly, and giggled, "It's a hand... You shake it."

She looked away from me, unamused, and muttered to herself, taking in the scenery, "This is gonna be a _long_ trip..."


End file.
